Automobile vehicles commonly provide acoustic barriers between vehicle body members and the interior trim components of the vehicle. In addition to acoustic attenuation, these barriers when used between a door member and a door trim member of an automobile vehicle also provide a seal for moisture and dirt to prevent moisture or dirt from entering into the mechanical component areas of the door structure or contacting the trim panel. In door applications when the barrier is affixed to a door trim member prior to assembly to the door assembly, such barriers are known as trim integrated acoustic shields (TIAS). TIAS barriers are formed of foamed and/or molded polymeric material and/or interpolymer materials and are also commonly provided with a layer of lofting material to improve acoustic attenuation. The lofting material can also be specifically located to promote sealing contact between the barrier and the door member.
Improvements to known acoustic barriers are required, for example, in applications where complex geometry components and a complex seal area are present between a door structure and an interior trim panel. The interpolymer materials currently used in these applications may not provide sufficient porosity control when fabricated in a thermoforming operation. Where thermoformed or permanently formed pockets are desirable, an improved perimeter seal is also desirable in addition to the adhesive bead seal commonly used. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/786,906, entitled “Water And Sound Shield Having Raised Sealing Rib”, filed Feb. 25, 2004 and commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, incorporates a raised sealing rib operable without an adhesive bead to seal against specified portions of a vehicle door panel.
The raised sealing rib of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/786,906 provides up to a 360 degree water seal. However, the geometry of some applications of vehicle door and trim panels do not provide sufficient contact force throughout the length of the raised sealing rib. Additional, loose pieces of lofting material are commonly added at the time of installation to improve seal contact. This increases the installation costs and does not always effectively position the lofting material where necessary. An improved panel design is therefore desirable to eliminate the need and expense of adding loose lofting material.